by Kate Dewes – 16 May 2006

Harold Evans, former magistrate, accomplished musician, peace campaigner and world-renowned ‘Father of the World Court Project’, died after a long illness on Good Friday, aged 90.  He was the son of a Solicitor-General, a Royal Air Force officer, the husband of a German Admiral’s daughter, personal assistant to Prime Minister Peter Fraser and  Associate of New Zealand’s Justice Northcroft at the Tokyo International Military Tribunal.   After  his retirement in 1979 he joined the Christchurch Peace Collective and took an active role in the campaign to declare New Zealand nuclear free. In 1986, the committee organised the local visit of US international lawyer Richard Falk. This was life-changing and set Harold on a decade-long struggle to outlaw all nuclear weapons via an advisory opinion on their legal status from the International Court of Justice. 

His many writings marshalled the legal and moral arguments to underpin the project, and by example he inspired many to join him. This amazing project succeeded in having resolutions passed at both the World Health Assembly in 1993, and the UNGA in 1994, requesting 2 separate, but related opinions from the Court. Although it started as a one-man crusade, it attracted support from over 700 organisations worldwide; most of the 110 Non-Aligned states, and over 4 million individually signed declarations of public conscience.

In March 1987 he wrote an Open letter to the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand asking them to co-sponsor a resolution to the United Nations requesting an advisory opinion. This was then sent to all countries with missions in Canberra or Wellington.  Despite receiving no governmental support for his initiative, he persisted and set about building NGO support nationally and internationally. He convinced New Zealand groups such as the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War to get their international body to support the project in 1988. He then travelled to the UK to ensure a resolution was passed at the IPB Conference in 1989 and pressured the fledgling International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms to do the same at their inaugural conference.  These three organizations formally launched the project in Geneva in May 1992. Although suffering from ill health, he continued to work closely with Alyn Ware, Kate Dewes and Rob Green in support of the international campaign.

In 1996, after the World Court advised that the threat and use of nuclear weapons was generally illegal under international law, the New Zealand government awarded him a Queen’s Service Order. In 2001 parliament passed a unanimous resolution endorsing the World Court Opinion and calling on all nuclear weapon states to pursue their obligations to bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament.  In 2003 he received one of the eight inaugural Peace City awards.  Next year there will be an exhibition at the Canterbury Museum marking the 20th anniversary of the nuclear free legislation and the beginning of the World Court Project. It will feature Harold’s contributions and will be a vehicle for New Zealanders and tourists alike to follow Harold’s example of how they can also make a difference by acting on his favourite dictum – ‘think globally, act locally’.

Kate Dewes
Disarmament and Security Centre
PO Box 8390
Christchurch
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Ph/fax: +64-3-348-1353

(Note: More information about the World Court Project can be found at www.disarmsecure.org and www.lcnp.org)

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